Beyond (15 page)

“
I ’
m the new Alpha team leader, ”
Davin said , gloating, ready to catch the look on Austin ’
s face…pause…wait for it…and BAM
…there it was.

Austin dropped his jaw and his eyes
widened . Claudia was standing next to him , and Davin could see Austin visibly trying to maintain his composure .
Claudia had no idea of their history , and they both knew she would ask a bunch of questions if Austin seemed displeased. All he could do was cringe at Davin ’
s huge, satisfied grin.

“
Davin, what a surprise. I knew you were here, but didn ’
t know you were the A lpha leader.
”

“
Yes, Katherine thinks I ’
m most qualified.
”

“
Oh, does she?
”
h e muttered under his breath.

“
We ’
ll be working together a lot . How about that?
”
he jeered through gritted teeth, slapping Austin ’
s back.

Austin rolled his eyes and
smirked .

Shifting her feet,
Claudia cleared her throat.

Davin looked squarely into her rich and luminous golden eyes .
“
Hello there, pretty lady. Where were my manners?
”
Davin took Claudia ’
s hand, knelt down , and kissed the back of her hand.

Strange
ly, h is mere presence made her happy , l ike seeing an old friend she hadn ’
t seen in years. Her face warmed and she smiled shyly.
U
neas y with his kneeling , she pulled him upright .
“
Nice to meet you too, Davin.
”

Claudia.
Davin said her name through his heart.
I know you. You are my friend , he wanted to say and couldn ’
t. He swallowed the guilt . He had to play along no matter how much he disliked it. Even if he did tell her everything, she would never believe him. He was a complete stranger to her.

“
Have…we me t …before?
”
she asked hesitantly .

“
Perhaps a lifetime ago, ”
he answered nervously. He needed to get out of this situation or he would break right now.
Think fast , he thought.
“
Let ’
s meet the rest of the A lpha team.
”
Davin turned and headed back toward his team.
Austin and Claudia follow ed , weav ing in and out of the sparring venators , trying not to get hit from one of them. Davin finally led them to the back.

“
Your A lpha team, ”
Davin introduced.

“
Hey princess, ”
Holly greeted.

“
Hello again, ”
Michelle and Gracie said at the same time. Michelle winked at Austin. Gracie blew him a kiss. Austin frowned and glanced away .

“
This is Delilah, Elissa, Connor and Aaron, ”
Davin continued.

They waved their hands and smiled, except for Delilah, who ignored Claudia. After the introduction s , the group went into the garden to help Claudia tighten up her skills with her bow. She got a kick out of shooting them through the clouds and having them fall off the edge, only to fall to who knew where.

Days before, Caspian had informed Michael about his family.
He asked Michael to join him at the supernatural school so that his family could meet him in person.
Florence and Elijah Pierce were Caspian’s adopted parents. Sophia and Alexander were fraternal twins. They could telepathically communicate with one another and read other people’s thoughts. Caspian mentioned other names , but Michael didn ’
t care to listen , nor did he remember. A vampire was a vampire. He didn ’
t come here to make friends. Finishing his mission as quickly as possible and getting back to Claudia was all that matter ed to him. In a way, the Pierce family reminded him of his family in Crossroads ; all the more reason to hurry. How he missed them.

Michael was used to only working with his kind. For as long as he could remember, Davin, Caleb and Vivian had always been by his side. He could count on them without thinking twice. They ’d always had each other ’
s back. Now he was obligated to work with blood see k ing demons, whom he was also forced to trust. He guessed it couldn ’
t be all that bad since the witches they call ed Ebony and Eliza were their friends. But being told Ebony was now also a vampire was a whole different story he didn ’
t care to know , even though he knew that they turned her to save her life.
He d efinitely didn ’
t want to be the first angel turned vampire if they ever needed to save his life. Lucky for him, he had a healing crystal. He pulled it out to examine the beauty of it and inwardly thanked Margaret for giving it to him before he left.
I t was rightfully his , handed down by his father who had passed away.

Right on schedule, he placed his crystal back into his pocket, exhaled a heavy sigh and walked in. From the moment he walked through the door until he reached the front of the auditorium, he could feel their gaze s fall heavily upon him. He glanced among the supernatural students. There must have been hundreds of them and right in front, he spotted Benjamin, the sole reason he was t here. Benjamin was the nephi li m he needed to help protect. They made eye contact and exchanged smiles .

This meeting room looked like any ordinary auditorium, only it was furnished with top-notch materials. The cherry wood tables and chairs with plush cushion s looked too comfortable , n ot that they could feel the difference.
In the front of the room was a laptop and a projector placed on a table.

Michael
didn’t want to be the center of attention, more so he didn ’
t want to be t here. He had just been with Claudia.
H
e could still smell her scent , as if she was right t here.
Even though the experience with her had weakened him, h e had to be strong and make it through this speech.
Impressing the vampires was important.
As Michael prepared himself to speak, all eyes were focused, filled with curiosity as they listened intently.

Michael cleared his throat.
“
Hello, my name is Michael. Angels like myself are called alk ins . We are the first and only generation in Crossroads. We are not permitted to interact with mortals. We can ’
t spend extended periods of time away from Crossroads. You can think of it like a rechargeable battery. We need to return home to energize ourselves. Of course , there are times we would like to stay here, but it ’
s just not allowed , and they will change everything to keep it that way. I know it ’
s for her…I mean…
.”
Uncontrollable thoughts of Claudia rippled through his mind , causing him to stumble off topic . He closed his eyes.
“
Focus, ”
he said to himself.

When he opened his eyes, he spotted an unknown female standing toward the back , and wasn ’
t sure if he should be on the alert. Good or bad, all vampires gave him the creeps.

Is he Michael?
Sophia telepathically communicate d to her brother, Alexander, who was sitting.

Yes,
Alexander replied .

What
’
s his deal?

Not sure really, I can ’
t connect or read him. It must be some kind of angelic block.

Okay, then what are you learning from him?

He
’
s explaining a little about why the angel hunters want the half angel, half human beings , and explaining to the students how we were able to cloak Benjamin. I think he may be a good addition to our teaching staff, if we can convince him to stay.

Michael continue
d as he watche d Sophia settle herself on a chair. He observed through their gesture s that she and a male were communicating silently . He didn ’
t care what they were talking about , as long as it wasn ’
t about attacking him.
“
We angels know it ’
s for the protection of those here on Earth, but it ’
s not always what is best …
as least it doesn ’
t always feel right.
”
His tone was low and tapered off at the end.

Sophia Pierce telepathically communicate
d to her brother Alexander again .

I can sense his pain. Michael is hurting more than any angel should. I always thought they were full of peace and joy, but I ’
m learning how wrong I ’
ve been.

Alexander replie
d , I know what you mean. I feel it too.

“
Michael, why is it you ’
ve been sent to us?
”
Eliza asked. Michael immediately sense d her different aura. She was not a vampire. He concluded she was one of their friendly witches.

“
One of my leaders, Katherine, is one of the Twelve. She believes nephilim can be trained properly and used for good, whereas others may disagree. She trains a group of angels known as venators. They reside beyond the realms of Heaven in a place called Nubilus City.
”

“
What do you believe?
”
Sofia asked, looking boldly at Michael with her green eyes. She wanted a reassurance from him .

This was the same woman that was sitting toward the back of the room next to a strikingly good looking male with blonde hair and brown eyes. Michael assumed they were the twins. Though their hair and eye color looked different, he could see the resemblance.
“
It doesn ’
t matter what I believe. I follow my orders.
”

“
I would sure like to know if you feel being on our side is the right thing .”

“
If you must know…yes, I do. I don ’
t agree with everything the Twelve order, but this I do. I ’
m proof that Katherine is right.
”